Mansee Singhi
CDA’s April Community Spotlight artist is Mansee Singhi. Mansee is a member of the United Nations International Dance Council and is an accomplished Kathak dancer specializing in the Lucknow and Jaipur Gharanas. She has showcased her performance at various International festivals and has performed in several dance and cultural exchanges in India, Malaysia, Singapore and here in the US. Mansee is an advocate of collaborative process and performance and holds overarching goals to learn, share, and spread dance to broad audiences.
It was our privilege to engage with Mansee for an interview recently. We are excited to share a glimpse into her artistic process and her mission to bring our dance community closer together. Read on below!!
Q: How would you describe your art?
A: Kathak is Indian Classical Dance that originated in the northern part of India during the Mughal era between the 16th and 18th century. The roots of this dance style have Persian influence and over time has been a syncretic genre adopting cultures from various societies of India. The essence of Kathak is “Storytelling” where the practitioners or dancers are called “Kathakkars” or storytellers who share their narration through dance poses, gestures, facial expressions and footwork.
Q: What has your experience been making art in the Columbus dance community?
A: The Arts community in Columbus is so vibrant, diverse, open, authentic and very humble. I’ve had amazing opportunities to interact, collaborate and learn from some amazing artists and musicians in the area. There are so many events and forums to participate in various forms. I also very much appreciate the support of local organizations such as CDA to enable diverse artists like myself and provide a platform for dialog and showcase. In the events that happen throughout the year, I’ve never experienced an empty audience or crowd, the Columbus residents come out every time to support various artists like myself. I have been fortunate to be an integral part of the Columbus dance community and look forward to supporting and growing the arts forms.
Photo Credit: Rajeev Chhajer
Image Description: Color photograph of Mansee Singhi smiling and gesturing toward the right hand side of the photo frame. The lighting is blue in color to accent the details of Mansee’s costume.
Q: You are bringing a breadth of knowledge and expertise in a classical form that may not be very well known, especially in the Columbus dance + performance community. What is it about this form that you find most fulfilling from your lifelong study of kathak?
A: Indian classical dance forms have undergone a multilayered evolution with time. Kathak has over time evolved as well, namely into three styles: Classical, Contemporary and Sufi. It charms and captivates people with its swift pirouettes, unique rhythmic virtuosity and lyrical exploration of romantic as well as devotional poetry. The sharp yet fluid movements synchronised with spins, unleashes a visual splendour onstage taking audiences on a spiritual journey. One can witness similarities with other dance forms that have its roots from other countries. For instance, Flamenco (Spain), Tap dance (Ireland) and also Ballet (Russia, France & Italy), showing close relationship with Kathak particularly in the stylised movements and rhythmic covering of space and the spins. This integration mainly has made collaborations possible by reimagining and transforming the dance vocabulary. The collaborative performances have provided a way to communicate and expand the breadth of knowledge to audiences. Also, as I mentioned Kathak essentially means Storytelling and the dancer is the Storyteller. Being this storyteller has been rewarding and an opportunity for me to continue to craft the art of storytelling through my dance.
Q: What are your hopes/dreams/desires for dance in Columbus, your dance or otherwise?
A: This is a topic I think about a lot and more so in recent times as we’ve seen systemic issues around race, culture etc. For me, creating awareness and knowledge, cross disciplinary collaborations and telling various stories allowing audiences and the arts community to learn and immerse into diverse cultures are some areas I personally intend to focus on. I'm not a great writer myself but with the use of technology and the internet there are many mediums of communication and reach. Also, I’d like to collaborate with local organizations more and see how arts education can be extended early on to growing kids as well. I'm hoping I can leverage my membership at the United Nations Council of Dance and learn from the interactions to execute some of my hopes and dreams. I’m always looking to collaborate with fellow artists and others in the community.
Q: What other Columbus based artists are you inspired by right now?
This is a tough one for me because every performance and artist has thrown light on an idea and inspired me in some way. Here are some names that immediately come to mind:
Lauren Squires (Tap Dance Artist) - She inspired me to rethink and create new choreographies fusing the worlds of Tap Dance and Kathak together focussed on the footwork. I’ve learnt and adopted intricate footwork and beats from Lauren.
Attila Bongar (Ballet Artist) - His attention to detail, transitions and execution has always brought a fresh perspective to my own performances. I’m personally inspired by a charity event he founded - “The Benefit”.
Jane D’Angelo (Executive Director of Ohio Dance) - If I don’t mention Jane, then I’m missing one of the most important and influential members in the Columbus Arts community who has promoted both arts and arts education for a long time. Her vision for the community always inspires me to keep going.
Photo Credit: Srujan Reddy
Image Description: Color photograph of Mansee Singhi in an outdoor woods setting wearing a cream and bright pink outfit with arms in a circular gesture over her head.
We are very excited to be hosting a workshop–”Essence of Indian Classical Dance: Kathak”–with Mansee this coming weekend, April 24, 2021. In this workshop, Mansee will be covering Hand Movements & Gestures, Foot Work and Spins. For more details, please visit our Facebook Event Page or simply sign up to attend using this Registration Form.
If you are interested in learning more about or supporting Mansee’s ongoing work you can check out her personal website, or donate via Venmo @Mansee-Singhi.